A cage fighter broke down in tears after admitting to police that he might have saved the life of a Southampton dad if he had called an ambulance for him earlier, a court heard.

Instead, alleged killer Damon Wright called a taxi to the Woolston alleyway where he had left Kevin Wyeth lying unconscious in the hope that the cabbie would get help.

The jury at Winchester Crown Court heard that Wright, 32, told officers he believed Kevin would still be alive today if he had called 999.

In police interviews read out to the court, Wright was asked if he wished he had called an ambulance instead of a taxi.

Wright replied: “Yes, very much so.”

It was at this point he began to cry.

The court heard how Wright only called an ambulance once the taxi had failed to spot 31-year-old Kevin, some 90 minutes after he had left him unconscious in the alleyway between Defender Road and Tankerville Road, just before midnight on August 23 last year.

Wright, who denies murder, admits fighting with Kevin – the ex-partner of his girlfriend Samantha Slater – but claims he acted in self-defence.

He described his “relief” as he watched paramedics eventually arrive and find the Saints groundsman.

He said: “I said to Sam everything will be fine now, he’s in good hands. They will look after him.”

Proceeding.